19 AUGUST2025W MAN LEADERGLOBAL W MAN LEADERGLOBAL DR.KIRAN MAZUMDAR-SHAW- CHAIR & MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BIOCON LTDDr.Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the first female brewmaster in India and the richest self-made woman in the country, owes a lot to the humble ale. On the advice of her brewmaster father, she studied fermentation science and beer brewing, which helped her company's biotechnology make some of its most important discoveries.The concept of "affordable innovation," which Mazumdar-Shaw refers to as her driving force, is important to her since she supports free access to all life-saving medications. She founded Biocon in 1978, which is now the largest producer of insulin in Asia and has given patients all over the world more than two billion accessible doses of biosimilar insulin. Despite frequently prioritising patients over money, Biocon's revenues for FY19 were US$800 million.In 2016, Mazumdar-Shaw signed The Giving Pledge, pledging to donate 75% of her money to philanthropy. As a result, it is unlikely that she will retain much of her own income.The trailblazer was recognised to Forbes' 2020 list of the 100 Most Powerful Women and received the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2020.The company Biocon was the first biotech company in India to go public in 2014, and it was the only other Indian company to surpass US$1 billion on the first day of listing.NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, GLOBAL ECONOMISTThe World Trade Organization's next director general is NgoziOkonjo-Iweala (WTO). She is the first woman and the first African to chair the WTO despite the Trump Administration's opposition to her selection. She holds economics degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, and during her two terms as Nigeria's minister of finance, she waged anti-corruption and anti-cronyism efforts that cost her country US$15 billion and earned her the label "Trouble Woman."She persuaded the Paris Club of Creditors to forgive Nigeria's debt of $30 billion dollars, including the outright cancellation of US$18 billion, while serving as Nigeria's Minister of Finance. She spent 25 years working at The World Bank, eventually moving up to Managing Director, which is the second-highest position. She serves as Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as well as numerous other international boards.ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ- US REPRESENTATIVE FOR NEW YORKAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. AOC has not wavered from her leftist policies since winning office in 2018. For many Republicans, the fact that AOC is a young, female, and a person of colour is undoubtedly a problem. She is possibly most despised, however, for being blatantly and outspokenly herself.AOC is a democratic socialist who thinks that the US can and should reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. She also supports free Medicare and free college education. She and Secretary John Kerry co-chaired the Climate Unity Task Force on Climate Change, which helped President-elect Joe Biden develop his multitrillion-dollar climate programme. To interact with voters, she makes use of social media, most recently Among Us on her Twitch platform.NAOMI OSAKA- WORLD CHAMPION TENNIS PLAYERBecause of her decision to speak out against racial inequality during the course of the previous year, Naomi Osaka was named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year in 2020. The 23-year-old defeated Serena Williams in the US Open finals, and as she was booed and jeered for beating one of her idols, she broke down in tears in public. The three-time Grand Slam winner, who plays for Japan but was born in the US, is active on Twitter and TikTok. She was nominated for an award for her activism against racial inequality, inspired a manga character, and won three Grand Slams.Osaka donned seven different face masks to the US Open, each bearing the name of a US citizen who had been the victim of police abuse. Osaka has clearly discovered her voice and is just getting started by leveraging her global platform for social engagement in such a highly public manner.She also broke the record for highest-paid female athlete ever after earning an astounding US$37.4 million in only a single year.SHEMARA WIKRAMANAYAKE, CEO OF MACQUARIE GROUPShemara Wikramanayake, CEO of Macquarie Group, is the first woman to hold the title of highest paid CEO in Australia, earning an annual compensation of A$18 million. She claims that a significant factor in her success has been her husband's decision to raise their two sons as a stay-at-home dad. In 2018, she became the first Asian-Australian woman to lead an ASX 200 listed firm after holding 15 different professions across six nations since 1987.Anne Wikramanayake, CEO of Macquarie Group, Australia's largest financial services company, was named to the World Bank's Global Commission on Adaptation last year. Only three CEOs worldwide have been named to this distinguished position, and she is one of them. She has led attempts to raise $1 billion for investments in sustainable energy as CEO, including raising money for a solar farm in South Africa.
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